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I do not like synthetic foods like MG. Anything that stains things bright blue cant be all that great. Sure it works great, but why use it when there are so many other things out there that work just as well and is totally natural.
I have a compost bin. The worms have been heavily populating it this year. I have chickens and I have access to horse droppings by the truck load. My composter has a base that catches liquids that ooze out and that is a wonderful tea for my plants.
What I use and what I do and when is all a matter of what.
I have 'just dirt' in my yard, so I have had to work up my soil for the Vegi garden. I get store bought amending soil and I add some of my compost, as well as prep the soil with some straight organics like guano and anything else the soil type may need for 'consistency' (greensand, pearlite) If the soil is good, not much feeding is needed. Our soil is not that good yet and my chicken compost is too hot still.
So I do feedings; I give fish emulsion and B1 to starts and seedlings- these two are for root growth. For veggies I have 'grow' and 'bloom' foods, given during the appropriate times. What brand I use depends. I play around with different kinds. However, I really like Earth Juice. It stinks so I know it's good.
As for the NPK- you don't want to over do the N/nitrogen. It's what makes the plants grow green and pretty, but without a good balance of everything else, it can actually be bad for the plant. Lawns are the only thing that can really take high nitrogen. K-potassium is the main thing. It is good for the plants all the way around. Bonemeal is basically K and can be used in dry or liquid form. Dry form should be mixed into the soil before planting but can be added later, it won't break down in time if you are doing a veggi garden, but a sprinkle on house plants once in a while is great, it's it's own time release food. Liquid bonemeal is ready to go for the most part, but is a pain to feed because while it is 'liquid' there are still solids in it and you have to constantly shake or stir your watering container. But it does have it's advantages. For one it has a sweet smell so counter acts the Earth Juice odor. P-phosphorus is good door roots and flowers/fruiting time.
So you can buy different kinds of NPK levels, 3-6-3, good all around levels, 9-6-6, your lawn will love it, 0-6-0, probably should be mixed with something else, but use for feeding when everything starts to flower and continue towards harvest.
The numbers come in all kinds of combinations and it all depends on what your situation is as to what is best.
Liquid foods, it seems, I feed more often, whereas there are some dry foods that I add to the soil prior to planting and sometimes occasionally sprinkle on top and water in, which I do not have to do as often.
I have no master plan to foods and feeding. As I say, I'm usually playing around with stuff. I'll keep what works and drop what does not.
But so far, my favorites is guano with powdered bonemeal and greensand with a splash or horse dung mixed into my garden prior to planting.
I have always done B1 & fish emulsion for my starts.
Let's be clear here. Compost and fertilizer are not interchangeable. They are not the same and if you use one, it doesn't mean you don't need the other. Compost feeds the soil, improves the soil, makes it more friable, gives it nicer texture for moving and storing water and for breaking down clay so that more nutrients can be released for plants to take up.
Fertilizer feeds the plants, period. It does nothing to improve the soil. So, you need both, and only a soil test will tell you how much fertilizer you need. There are three primary ingredients you'll see listed on a bag: nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium or potash (K). But there are many many more macro and micronutrients that plants need, and a depletion in any one of them can cause a plant to die (called "the law of the minimum" in hort history). So you have things like calcium, sulphur, iron, molybdenum, etc. (see link below).
Plants have no idea if their phosphorus comes from decomposed banana peels or a synthetic granule. But they get a lot more of that phosphorus from the granule than from the compost, which usually has very low NPK percentages.
Is your compost going to provide the minimum requirement lf all the needed nutrients? No. That's why we add a good balanced fertilizer that contains all the things you read about in this link:
I dose my freshwater fish tanks with liquid Calcium and trace elements and do a lot of water changes. This water then goes out to both indoor and outdoor plants. A few years ago my Italian cucumbers hit the ground from the third floor in West Vancouver. The ladies below me were pretty impressed.
Liquid calcium is extrmely cheap and the building block to everything. For convenience Miracle Grow is pretty close to what I'm doing but watch your dosage in containers. Less is more.
My Impatiens were very "leggy" after using Miracle Gro last year and I asked the staff at the nursery about it. They said that Miracle Gro is like a steroid for plants and they discouraged the use of it. So now I'll have to find something else; they recommended an organic product.
sounds like to me they just wanted to sell you something more exspensive . I mean anybody can say anything does not mean it is true you know but hey if you believe them then by all means get something else . My nursery lady says she uses on everything she has too and it does fine for them . So go figure I trust her and she never steers me wrong and have known her for years .
I do not like synthetic foods like MG. Anything that stains things bright blue cant be all that great. Sure it works great, but why use it when there are so many other things out there that work just as well and is totally natural.
I have a compost bin. The worms have been heavily populating it this year. I have chickens and I have access to horse droppings by the truck load. My composter has a base that catches liquids that ooze out and that is a wonderful tea for my plants.
What I use and what I do and when is all a matter of what.
I have 'just dirt' in my yard, so I have had to work up my soil for the Vegi garden. I get store bought amending soil and I add some of my compost, as well as prep the soil with some straight organics like guano and anything else the soil type may need for 'consistency' (greensand, pearlite) If the soil is good, not much feeding is needed. Our soil is not that good yet and my chicken compost is too hot still.
So I do feedings; I give fish emulsion and B1 to starts and seedlings- these two are for root growth. For veggies I have 'grow' and 'bloom' foods, given during the appropriate times. What brand I use depends. I play around with different kinds. However, I really like Earth Juice. It stinks so I know it's good.
As for the NPK- you don't want to over do the N/nitrogen. It's what makes the plants grow green and pretty, but without a good balance of everything else, it can actually be bad for the plant. Lawns are the only thing that can really take high nitrogen. K-potassium is the main thing. It is good for the plants all the way around. Bonemeal is basically K and can be used in dry or liquid form. Dry form should be mixed into the soil before planting but can be added later, it won't break down in time if you are doing a veggi garden, but a sprinkle on house plants once in a while is great, it's it's own time release food. Liquid bonemeal is ready to go for the most part, but is a pain to feed because while it is 'liquid' there are still solids in it and you have to constantly shake or stir your watering container. But it does have it's advantages. For one it has a sweet smell so counter acts the Earth Juice odor. P-phosphorus is good door roots and flowers/fruiting time.
So you can buy different kinds of NPK levels, 3-6-3, good all around levels, 9-6-6, your lawn will love it, 0-6-0, probably should be mixed with something else, but use for feeding when everything starts to flower and continue towards harvest.
The numbers come in all kinds of combinations and it all depends on what your situation is as to what is best.
Liquid foods, it seems, I feed more often, whereas there are some dry foods that I add to the soil prior to planting and sometimes occasionally sprinkle on top and water in, which I do not have to do as often.
I have no master plan to foods and feeding. As I say, I'm usually playing around with stuff. I'll keep what works and drop what does not.
But so far, my favorites is guano with powdered bonemeal and greensand with a splash or horse dung mixed into my garden prior to planting.
I have always done B1 & fish emulsion for my starts.
Yes but some of us dont have land and such to garden on .
sounds like to me they just wanted to sell you something more exspensive . I mean anybody can say anything does not mean it is true you know but hey if you believe them then by all means get something else . My nursery lady says she uses on everything she has too and it does fine for them . So go figure I trust her and she never steers me wrong and have known her for years .
I agree. Impatiens almost always get leggy, especially if the human who cares for them doesn't routinely shear them back. It wasn't the MG that caused that. I want to scream when I hear stupid solutions to gardeners' problems.
I suppose I need to pay more attention to my plants (all are indoor or outside in containers).
Because I can't tell whether the plant food helps or not. I use MG or Osmocote about twice a summer....I couldn't tell you whether they helped or not. I do it because everyone and commercials say I should. Making me feel neglectful and guilty if I don't.
And the commercials, which are trying to sell a product,afterall, show pictures of plants with and without the plant food, and if I'm to believe all I see and read...it works. But I personally couldn't tell you whether it does or not. I suppose the only way to know for myself is to do what the commercials do -- one plant with -- and one plant without...and see the difference. But that's time, money, and effort into proving for myself what seems to be a given accepted by all.
I'm totally in the "I guess it can't hurt, and everyone says it works so it must work" camp.
I suppose I need to pay more attention to my plants (all are indoor or outside in containers).
Because I can't tell whether the plant food helps or not. I use MG or Osmocote about twice a summer....I couldn't tell you whether they helped or not. I do it because everyone and commercials say I should. Making me feel neglectful and guilty if I don't.
And the commercials, which are trying to sell a product,afterall, show pictures of plants with and without the plant food, and if I'm to believe all I see and read...it works. But I personally couldn't tell you whether it does or not. I suppose the only way to know for myself is to do what the commercials do -- one plant with -- and one plant without...and see the difference. But that's time, money, and effort into proving for myself what seems to be a given accepted by all.
I'm totally in the "I guess it can't hurt, and everyone says it works so it must work" camp.
You know what? You're not alone. And as for those commercials with the with-and-without Miracle-Gro -- all hogwash. I'm an Extension Master Gardener and have two hort certificates. I do just what you do -- feed them whether they need it or not. There are as many problems (or more) caused by overfeeding than underfeeding.
I dose my freshwater fish tanks with liquid Calcium and trace elements and do a lot of water changes. This water then goes out to both indoor and outdoor plants.
That is a great idea.
I am going to start watering my indoor plants with my aquarium water.
So many people use fish in outdoor growing systems. No idea why it never occured to me to use my indoor tank water.
sounds like to me they just wanted to sell you something more exspensive . I mean anybody can say anything does not mean it is true...
I don't know....this wasn't the first time I've heard negative things about Miracle Gro (which, BTW, I've used a lot in the past). The salesperson who said this wasn't pushing me to buy anything, just answering my question.
From another website on gardening: "using organics feeds the soil which then feeds the plants. Synthetics feed the plants and the soil starves which leads to an increased dependence upon fertilizer and results in soil that is more or less biologically dead. The smart use of any fertilizer, organic or synthetic, along with a soil management program such as the incorporation of organic matter, mulching etc. ensure the soil stays healthy and can support vigorous, healthy plants."
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